This invention relates generally to tools utilize for contouring and finishing beads of caulk, grout, putty and other fluent materials (hereinafter referred to only as "caulk"). More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for compressing and contouring beads of fluent Material freshly applied to joints, and for the simultaneous removal of excess fluent material from the sides of the joints.
Many tools are available in the prior art for contouring and finishing beads of caulk applied to intersecting planar surfaces. Some such tools teach a one-step application and contouring of a bead of fluent material within a joint, other tools are used after the initial bead of caulk has been applied to finish the bead uniformly. A few such tools disclosed purport to be able to avoid excess distribution of fluent materials in the first instance but most are devoid of any teaching or recognition of potential clean up problems along the sides of an applied and contoured bed. Some other tools available in the prior art teach an additional clean-up step to the process of producing a finished uniform bead of caulking between intersecting planar surfaces devoid of excess caulking material. However, to the extent that they may not always satisfactorily perform in the manner suggested, the tools disclosed are inadequate to remove such excess material.
Many of the tools in the prior art are constructed in a complex manner especially where the initial application of a uniform caulk bead is the preferred method of operation. This complexity reduces the potential use of such tools under most job conditions encountered by this inventor.
Moreover even those such tools which are of simple construction and operation compete under job conditions with more readily available traditional methods of caulking finishing tools such as a moistened finger or palette knife, which though messy and imprecise continue to be the foremost methods of finishing caulk beads. Such work practices hold the benefit to the employer of resilience and flexibility, although a few tools available in the prior art also teach resilience and flexibility of construction, none can offer flexibility of use required to achieve uniform beads of caulk in many instances especially where the adjacent surfaces are not perpendicular or include non-conformities such as joints, cracks or surface texture.